SFPD Chief Apologizes For Behavior Of Cyclist-Shaming Sergeant

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San Francisco’s police chief said today that a big-rig driver has been found at fault in a collision that killed a bicyclist in the city’s South of Market neighborhood earlier this month.

Amelie Le Moullac, 24, was killed when a truck made a right turn at Sixth and Folsom streets and struck her on the morning of Aug. 14.

The truck driver was not initially cited, but police Chief Greg Suhr said today that after an investigation by the Police Department’s major accident investigation team, the driver was found to be at fault.

Suhr said the case is being presented today to the district attorney’s office, which will make a decision about whether to charge the driver.

Suhr said a critical part of the investigation was surveillance video footage of the accident uncovered by members of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

The coalition organized an event at Sixth and Folsom streets a week after the accident, and its members found the recording after talking to owners of nearby businesses. The video was then passed along to police and the attorney for Le Moullac’s family.

The coalition has criticized the Police Department’s handling of the case, both for not finding the surveillance video and for a sergeant who allegedly stopped at the event last week, parked in the bike lane and told people there that Le Moullac was at fault for the collision.

Suhr said today that the department is apologizing for that incident.

“It’s never OK for anybody, let alone a police officer, to be a distraction at a memorial,” he said. “We’re usually better than that.”

He said video of the incident involving the sergeant has been forwarded to the city’s Office of Citizen Complaints, which handles allegations of police misconduct.

Dan McMenamin, Bay City News

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http://opusthepoet.wordpress.com/ Opus the Poet

I have heard rumors that the cyclist was hit from behind by the truck that turned before she had cleared the intersection, but I don’t have any confirmation on that. I don’t know how reliable my sources are on this one. The video would place all those rumors to rest or make them facts and not just rumors.

And if what the sergeant did was “alleged” then Obama gave an “alleged’ speach on TV. When what you did was captured on video it is no longer “alleged”. The crank needs to be fired and stripped of his law-enforcement license.

http://opusthepoet.wordpress.com/ Opus the Poet

I have heard rumors that the cyclist was hit from behind by the truck that turned before she had cleared the intersection, but I don’t have any confirmation on that. I don’t know how reliable my sources are on this one. The video would place all those rumors to rest or make them facts and not just rumors.

And if what the sergeant did was “alleged” then Obama gave an “alleged’ speach on TV. When what you did was captured on video it is no longer “alleged”. The crank needs to be fired and stripped of his law-enforcement license.

street_equity

Chief Suhr,

Not making a concerted effort to locate video surveillance is ALSO NOT OK.

And, it’s CERTAINLY not ok for an officer to LIE and claim that he looked for video evidence when he didn’t even TRY. The store owners claim they were NEVER ASKED!

How about looking into that????

street_equity

Chief Suhr,

Not making a concerted effort to locate video surveillance is ALSO NOT OK.

And, it’s CERTAINLY not ok for an officer to LIE and claim that he looked for video evidence when he didn’t even TRY. The store owners claim they were NEVER ASKED!

How about looking into that????

danboyd3

These are Roads, Not Bike Trails, People…

http://opusthepoet.wordpress.com/ Opus the Poet

And cyclists have a right to use those roads (and city streets) so I don’t see your point. And there are no motor vehicle-specific funding sources that pay into the funds by which city streets are built, they are paid for from general fund sources like sales and property taxes. And as long as I have been car-free and bicycle transportation oriented I have never been given a refund on any of those taxes from any source. So cyclists pay just as much for the streets as people that drive cars, but do not abuse them as highly as people in motor vehicles.

danboyd3

They were made for cars not bikes, until Critical Ass came to Play…

Justizin

Actually, esp in SF, they were made for horses and horsecarriages before there were cars. That likely means people have been riding bicycles on the streets of SF since before there were automobiles.

danboyd3

These are Roads, Not Bike Trails, People…

http://opusthepoet.wordpress.com/ Opus the Poet

And cyclists have a right to use those roads (and city streets) so I don’t see your point. And there are no motor vehicle-specific funding sources that pay into the funds by which city streets are built, they are paid for from general fund sources like sales and property taxes. And as long as I have been car-free and bicycle transportation oriented I have never been given a refund on any of those taxes from any source. So cyclists pay just as much for the streets as people that drive cars, but do not abuse them as highly as people in motor vehicles.